Presidents

Nur Muhammad Taraki - 30 April 1978 – 16 September 1979
Hafizullah Amin - 16 September 1979 – 27 December 1979
Babrak Karmal - 27 December 1979 – 24 November 1986
Haji Mohammad Chamkani - 24 November 1986 – 30 September 1987
Mohammad Najibullah - 30 September 1987 – 16 April 1992
Abdul Rahim Hatef - 16 April 1992 – 28 April 1992
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi - 27 April 1992 – 28 June 1992
Burhanuddin Rabbani - 28 June 1992 – 27 September 1996, 27 September 1996 – 13 November 2001 (President of the Northern Alliance), 13 November 2001 – 22 December 2001
Hamid Karzai - 22 December 2001 (acting until 7 December 2004 - under 2004 Constitution)

wiki bios start at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nur_Muhammad_Taraki

You can just follow along via the links at the bottom of the page.

Chronological History of Afghanistan

http://www.afghan-web.com/history/chron/index4.html

United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...of_Afghanistan

Note: these Wiki articles are not cited as evidence - but merely as a quick entry into the timeline and characters.

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Taliban

Head of the Supreme Council of Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Mohammed Omar - 27 September 1996 – 13 November 2001

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Omar

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [1] was the name given to the nation of Afghanistan by the Taliban during their rule, from 1996 to 2001. At the peak of their influence the Taliban never controlled the entire area of Afghanistan, as about 10% of the country in the northeast was held by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan. [simple map shows area of Taliban control].
.....
Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates ever recognized the Taliban government. Turkmenistan also de facto recognized the Taliban government, as it had official meetings and agreements with Taliban government ministers.

One reason for this lack of international recognition was the Taliban's disregard for international law. One of the first acts of the Islamic Emirate was the killing of the former President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah. Before the Taliban had even taken control of Afghanistan's capital they sent out a squad to arrest, torture, mutilate and kill Najibullah, leaving his body hanging from a street lamp outside the presidential palace for two days. As Najibullah was staying in the United Nations compound in Kabul, this was a violation of international law.[4] The Taliban regime was also heavily criticised for the murder of Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan[4] [5] in 1998.
....
[1] Directorate of Intelligence (2001). "CIA -- The World Factbook -- Afghanistan
[4] Mullah Omar : WarlordsofAfghanistan.com [This link adds absolutely nothing of present value]
[5] [15 Sep 1998] SC/6573 : SECURITY COUNCIL STRONGLY CONDEMNS MURDER OF IRANIAN DIPLOMATS IN AFGHANISTAN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic...of_Afghanistan

15 September 1998
Press Release
SC/6573
SECURITY COUNCIL STRONGLY CONDEMNS MURDER OF IRANIAN DIPLOMATS IN AFGHANISTAN
19980915
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/19...15.sc6573.html

These facts cut against the Taliban's having authority to speak for the nation of Afghanistan, as a "High Contracting Party" under the 1949 GCs.

The below facts, if true, could lead to another legal theory concerning the Taliban:

Governance

The Taliban did not hold elections, as their spokesman explained:

"The Sharia does not allow politics or political parties. That is why we give no salaries to officials or soldiers, just food, clothes, shoes and weapons. We want to live a life like the Prophet lived 1400 years ago and jihad is our right. We want to recreate the time of the Prophet and we are only carrying out what the Afghan people have wanted for the past 14 years. " [32]

Instead of an election, their leader's legitimacy came from "Bay'ah" or oath of allegiance in imitation of the Prophet and early Muslims. On 4 April 1996, Mullah Omar had the "the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed," taken from its shrine "for the first time in 60 years." Wrapping himself in the relic, he appeared on the roof of a building in the center of Kandahar while hundreds of Pashtun mullahs below shouted "Amir al-Mu'minin!" (Commander of the Faithful), in a de facto pledge of support.

Also in keeping with the governance of early Muslims was a lack of state institutions or "a methodology for command and control" standard today internationally even among non-Westernized states. The Taliban didn't issue "press releases, policy statements or hold regular press conferences," and of course the outside world and most Afghans didn't even know what they looked like, since photography was banned.[33] Their regular army resembled "a lashkar or traditional tribal militia force" with only 25,000 to 30,000 men, these being added to as the need arose. Cabinet ministers and deputies were mullahs with a "madrassa education." Several of them, such as the Minister of Health and Governor of the State bank, were primarily military commanders who left their administrative posts to fight when needed. If and when military reverses trapped them behind lines or led to their deaths, this created "even greater chaos" in the national administration.[34] In the Ministry of Finance there was no budget or "qualified economist or banker." Cash to finance Taliban war effort was collected and dispersed by Mullah Omar without book-keeping.

[32] March 1996 interview in Kandahar with Mullah Wakil, an aide to Omar by Ahmed Rashid, from Rashid's book Taliban (2000), p.43
[33] Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.5
[34] Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.100
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban

Note: I am not citing Wiki as an "expert witness" - the links are simply a quick way for someone to get the general drift of the situation (s) over the years.

Here are the two legal theories which might fit the Taliban 1996-2001:

1. The Taliban was a "Power" in the Afghan conflict - not the recognized government of Afghanistan. Hence, it would have had to accept the GCs and apply them in order to enjoy their benefits under Art. 2.

2. The Taliban, in fact, created a new nation in that large portion of Afghanistan which they controlled. Given the vast divergence of what seems to have been their "organic law" from the norms of the written Afghan constitutons, that is a plausible argument. It does not help them under the GCs since they would then be a non-contracting party. So, we would be back to the requirements of Art. 2 - a "Power" in the armed conflict, who would have had to accept the GCs and apply them in order to enjoy their benefits.
We are back to my four questions, concerning acceptance and application of the GCs by the Taliban and AQ-Ansar.

I am no factual expert on Afghanistan. There should be a zillion people here with factual expertise on the key factual issues. Like to hear from you.